Defying the law, a village panchayat here dealt in its own way with a molester -- it ordered him to organise a feast for the villagers as his punishment, police said on Tuesday.
Defying the law, a village panchayat here dealt in its own way with a molester -- it ordered him to organise a feast for the villagers as his punishment, police said on Tuesday.
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But the accused was later arrested as the disappointed victim approached the police to seek justice.
The order was pronounced March 13 by the panchayat of Kapsa village on a complaint by a 45-year-old widow, who had accused one Ram Bahadur, a native of the same village, of molesting her.
"The incident clearly reflects how some people just don't care about the law and pronounce their own judgment in criminal cases," police inspector Nand Kishore told reporters in Allahabad, some 200 km from Lucknow.
"After an initial enquiry on the complaint by the woman, we have arrested Ram Bahadur," police inspector Nand Kishore told reporters Tuesday in Allahabad, around 200 km from Lucknow.
"The probe is still on. On the completion of the enquiry, we may initiate legal action against those who ignored the law and gave their own judgment on such a sensitive issue," Kishore said.
According to police, Bahadur, who was arrested Monday, molested the woman March 9 when she was returning from the fields.
"The woman approached the panchayat the same day, seeking action against Ram Bahadur," Sewak Ram, a local, told reporters.
"However, the panchayat took four days to pronounce the judgment. As a punitive action it ordered that Ram Bahadur organise a feast for the entire village," he said.
"The panchayat's order proved to be a major disappointment for the woman, who later publicly announced that she would approach the police to get justice," he added.
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